From the Walfang Gazette
Yacht Ventures Into Bay,
Causes Gas Spill
The Penelope, a yacht owned by fashion designer Newell Orlost, ran aground on a sandbar in Walfang Bay this afternoon. Unfortunately, her reserve tank of gasoline was ruptured in the accident, causing a sizeable fuel spill in the bay. Hazmat workers should be on the scene later tomorrow.
“Any time we see a spill of this nature, there is always a threat to wildlife,” said Martin Olvides, professor of…
Guernsey was barking at the gate as Will roared up on his motorcycle. She went crazy when she saw him, leaping and lunging at the pickets.
Will unlatched the gate and reached for Guernsey’s collar, but the dog pushed past him. She bolted toward the fields, her thirteen-year-old legs remembering their puppy speed. She led him across the yard, past the flowers now dim in the darkness, past the black sheep nestled in clean hay under their shelter. The dog blasted out into the field.
Will ran down the narrow row of corn after her. The stalks grew high overhead, blocking his view. They whispered past his ears, tearing at his arms, but he kept running. It was like a labyrinth with only one way out-forward.
Suddenly he broke through the vegetation, and the soil quickly turned to a mucky silt and sand. He stopped short. Guernsey was standing at the bay’s edge, barking.
And Gretchen was in the water.
Her white nightgown billowed around her as she waded into the still, smooth bay. The water was already at her waist.
The moon hung like a jewel in the sky, pouring light down onto the bay. It was easy for Will to see the heads-the group of faces-in an arc facing Gretchen.
His bones felt hollow, hollow as a flute, or the barrel of a gun. He was light, without weight, without power. Those faces-lovely and strange, with eyes like stars and teeth like daggers, hungry mouths-struck a primal fear in him. It rooted him to the ground, kept him captive while their voices drew Gretchen forward.
Sound filled the air, coiling like ropes around Will’s ankles, around Gretchen’s mind. The faces bobbed and watched as Gretchen slogged her way forward. One, two, they disappeared into the water, then resurfaced. Suddenly, Gretchen slipped below the surface. It was quick, as if she’d fallen into a hole-one moment she was there, a figure as white as the reflection of the moon, and the next, she was gone.
Will could only watch, helpless and immobile, as the music held him captive. Will tried to cry out, but he couldn’t find his voice. Even Guernsey grew quiet. She crouched on her belly, whimpering.
Will couldn’t be certain if their song had words. If it did, they were words he didn’t understand. Yet images flashed into his mind-clear images. A sudden flash of Tim’s face. The fear, the strange underwater scream. They were both there. A woman with hair like starlight looked at Will. She smiled, revealing small, sharp teeth. Then she tore into Tim’s neck with those teeth…
Blood curled through the water like smoke on air.
Will struck out, and a laser of pain slashed across his face. He felt as if his cheek had split open. He prepared for the teeth to tear into his flesh, ripping it like scissors, but instead someone grabbed his arms, dragged him away, hauled him-a dead weight-back onboard the boat.
Eyes fluttering, Will saw a face leaning over him. Blue eyes, long wet pale hair hanging in thick ropes. Behind him, at the edge of the water, the sail on Tim’s boat had caught fire and blazed into the night like a vision of God. Then the image started to fade, slipping away…
The arc of faces dipped into the water, and suddenly the music that held him went silent. The trance lifted slowly, and Will remembered where he was. He was at the edge of the bay… at the edge of the bay, where he had gone after Gretchen…
“Gretchen!” Will shouted as he plunged forward, his thick boots chopping into the water like heavy axes.
Water churned suddenly, and Gretchen’s face appeared. She fought her way to the surface, but a hand reached out to pull her back down. She managed a single, strangled scream before she disappeared again.
He took five steps, then stopped. He didn’t know where to go. Ripples spread out in wide rings, then melted into the water, erasing evidence of their existence. The bay was smooth as glass.
“Gretchen,” Will cried, scanning the water for any sign. Any sign.
There was none.
But still he stood there, his muscles tensed, ready to fight, ready to dive in after her.
Silence.
Then, with the suddenness of a lightning bolt, the water broke open with a deafening scream. A figure blasted through the surface, blood pouring from its face. It took Will a moment to realize that the figure wasn’t Gretchen-it was one of the seekriegers. A fierce cut was lashed across her face, and blood poured into her eyes, blinding her.
The water roiled and shattered as another seekrieger blasted out. A hand reached up and caught the creature, and in the next moment Asia appeared.
“Oh my God,” Will whispered as Asia grasped the seekrieger’s hair. She twisted her neck with a jerk, and sent her back screaming into the water. Another seekrieger appeared behind Asia, but she knocked her elbow into the mermaid’s face, sending her flying backward. And then she dove.
Will held his breath.
The ripples had barely disappeared from the surface of the water when Asia, with Gretchen in her arms, leaped from the water and landed near the cornfield. Will dragged through the mud, racing to join them as Asia let Gretchen spill from her arms to the ground.
Gretchen coughed, then rolled over to vomit seawater onto the sand. Will fell to his knees beside her as she choked and sputtered, shivering in her drenched nightgown. Guernsey came over and licked Gretchen’s face. Gretchen moaned.
“She’ll be all right,” Asia said quietly.
Will stared at her. “How can you say that?”
She looked out across the bay. “They’re still waiting.”
“Who are you delivering, Asia?” Will demanded. She remained silent. “Who is it?” Will screamed.
Asia looked down at Gretchen. “The Burning One.”
“Gretchen? Are you talking about Gretchen?”
“The person you know as Gretchen, yes. She’s the one Calypso has been seeking.”
“You’re making a mistake. She isn’t-”
“Not yet, Will. But soon.”
Will threw a protective arm across Gretchen. “You’ve got the wrong person!”
Asia shook her head. “No.”
Will lunged toward her. Asia opened her mouth, and a single note fell out. It blasted against Will like a cannonball, dropping him to the ground.
Will panted, trying to regain his breath. “Why did you save her, then? If you’re just going to hand her over?”
Asia looked down at Gretchen. “I’m no executioner,” she said.
“So what are you going to do?” Will asked.
The seekrieger with the hair like silver sang out, seeming to call to Asia. Out in the bay, the seekriegers shrieked and sang. “Calypso is waiting. She’ll be paid, one way or another.”
“Just walk away,” Will urged her.
“You know that’s impossible.” Asia’s voice was melancholy, but there was no mistaking the core of steel at the center of the words.
Gretchen let out a low moan.
“What are you going to do?” Will asked.
“The only thing left,” Asia told him. Turning, she raced into the bay with a speed that almost defied his vision.
“Asia!” he shouted, but a splash, then spreading ripples were the only sign of her.
The seekriegers let out an inhuman shriek and plunged after her. Will could see nothing for a long, sickening moment. Then Asia surfaced, facing Calypso.
The sirens faced one another in silence. Finally, Calypso spoke. In a strange language, with a lilting cadence. Will didn’t understand the words, but Calypso pointed to the shore, where Gretchen lay.
Asia shook her head. “No.”
Calypso laughed. So did the other seekriegers. She looked over at Will, and her eyes narrowed.
Behind him, Gretchen stirred. “Stay down,” Will hissed.
“Where-” Gretchen looked around. Her eyes lit on the creatures in the bay.
“Don’t move.”
Calypso lashed out, slicing Asia across the face. Blood poured down her cheek-it was a cut identical to the one Will wore.
Gretchen screamed.
Calypso lunged for Asia, and the other seekriegers raced toward the shore.
“Run!” Will cried, urging Gretchen to her feet.
One of the seekriegers reached the edge of the bay, and Guernsey leaped up to meet her. The old Labrador sank her teeth into the seekrieger’s leg. The siren let out a scream, but as Guernsey leaped at her throat, the seekrieger knocked her to the ground. Guernsey lay perfectly still, blood flowing from her crushed skull.
Will and Gretchen ran, but the seekriegers were too fast. They hadn’t even reached the fields when one grabbed Will and dragged him by the legs toward the water.
“Gretchen!” Will screamed as he clawed at the sand, kicking at the seekrieger. It was worse than useless-her strength outmatched his a hundredfold.
“Will!” Gretchen shrieked as another seekrieger reached her and dragged her near the bay. Gretchen’s screams reached a fevered pitch. The seekrieger wrapped an arm around her neck. But Gretchen pulled free of the seekrieger. Turning, she delivered a punch to the stomach that knocked the creature backward ten feet.
The seekrieger stumbled for a moment, then leaped at Gretchen. But Gretchen twisted, throwing her to the ground. And when she turned to face Will, he barely recognized her. Her blue eyes burned red-completely red, with no whites. As Gretchen stalked toward them, the seekrieger holding Will shrieked, released her grip, and raced back into the water.
“Calypso!” Gretchen shouted in a voice that was not her own. It was deep and booming-like thunder. She strode into the water.
Calypso released her hold on Asia and smiled a snarling grin at Gretchen. She said something in her strange language.
“You’re too late, Calypso,” the Gretchen-creature said.
Asia’s face registered terror. “The Fury has awoken,” she said, and closed her eyes.
The seekriegers screeched and wailed. The water churned as they plunged below the surface. Gretchen strode into the water.
“No!” Will shouted. “Don’t go to them!” He reached for Gretchen, but she grabbed his hand in a searing grip. He cried out in pain. She blinked with those strange red eyes, the color of blood, and seemed to recognize him.
Gretchen released him. “Get out of the water,” she told him.
Will stumbled back as she spread her arms and plunged them into the sea. Fire spread from her hands, racing across the surface of the bay.
The seekriegers’ screams rose like steam, sounding an alarm across the bay. Will clapped his hands over his ears and sank to his knees. The screams were like knives or a bed of nails pressing against him, slicing through his skin, peeling it back…
Will stared at Gretchen-the Burning One, Asia had called her. Suddenly he realized what must have happened the night the seekriegers came for Tim. Gretchen had been there. She must have been. Somehow she fought them off and set the sail on fire to frighten them away. Then she dragged Will to shore…
The seekriegers thrashed wildly, their figures dark against the fire. As it touched them, the flames turned purple, then red, and still the screams went on.
Slowly, slowly, they died away.
The red flames returned to yellow and orange. They burned on across the surface of the dark water as Will stood watching. He stood until he heard someone shouting his name and the faraway wail of police sirens.
Will stood watching, but the waters of the bay remained still.
Gretchen turned to face him. Her eyes were back to normal. She took a step toward him. Then another.
Then she fainted, dropping into the bay with a pale splash.
Gretchen’s eyes fluttered open. “Will?”
“Hey,” he said quietly, leaning forward in his chair. “You’re back with us.”
“Where-”
“Walfang General,” Will told her.
Gretchen looked around the light beige room. “Is that why the wallpaper’s so tasteful?”
“Pretty much.”
She struggled to sit up, then instantly regretted it. Her muscles screamed, and she sat back against her pillow. “Take it easy,” Will suggested.
“Could you have told me that ninety seconds ago?” Gretchen shot back.
“Aren’t you supposed to be making a speech about how grateful you are to be alive?”
Gretchen sighed. “I am grateful.” Something warm brushed her hand. Will’s fingers had intertwined with hers. The beeping heart monitor speeded up, broadcasting her feelings across the room. She felt her face flush. Will was watching the monitor as if a new idea was just dawning on him.
“Oh, great, you’re awake!” Angus said from the hallway. “Now you can make a statement for the paper.”
Angus was right behind Gretchen’s father, who had stopped short in the doorway, his dark eyes wide with relief. He had a white paper coffee cup in each hand.
“Hi, Dad,” she said.
“Hi.” Johnny fumbled with the coffee a moment, and handed a cup to Will. Then he set the other one down on the table beside Gretchen’s bed and leaned over her. He touched her hair gently, then gave her a tender kiss on the forehead. Gretchen felt the familiar stubble on his cheek brush against her temple. “Hi,” he said again. He looked at her with bright dark eyes, and she realized that he’d lost the faraway look he’d been wearing for days. It was as if they had both broken out of a dream.
“I’m okay,” Gretchen told him.
He looked at her, his eyes filling with tears. “Good,” he said.
As a speech, it lacked eloquence, but the way the tense, haggard lines of his face had softened said everything.
Angus flopped into the chair on the other side of Gretchen’s bed. “So are you going to be my big story, or what?”
“Forget it, Angus. I don’t even remember what happened.” Gretchen sneaked a look at Will, who nodded.
“Is this friendship?” Angus demanded.
“What are you even doing here?” Gretchen asked.
“Angus called 911,” Will told her. “He was the first one on the scene.”
Gretchen looked at Angus, who shrugged. “Police scanner. Someone called in about some smoke.”
“It was a pretty bad fire on the bay.” Johnny took Gretchen’s hand. “It’s lucky Will pulled you from the water.”
“Dude, that place is torched,” Angus said. “They’re closing the surrounding beaches until everything can get cleaned up.”
“The town isn’t happy,” Will explained. “But it’s almost the end of the season, so it could be worse.”
“I’ll say. Now maybe those shark things will move on.” Angus shook his head and took a swig from Will’s coffee. “Ugh. Dude, don’t you use sugar? This is vile.”
“Sharks?” Johnny asked, his face a blend of confusion and amusement.
“Angus is convinced the waters are swimming with them,” Will said quickly. “And that the town is hiding it.” He tried to make the idea sound ridiculous, but Johnny didn’t laugh.
“There are a lot of stories,” Gretchen’s dad said. “If you live out here long enough, you hear a few.” He looked down at Gretchen, and everyone was silent for a while.
Gretchen let out an involuntary yawn.
“I’m sorry, sweetie,” Johnny said. “We should let you rest.”
“I’m not tired,” Gretchen said.
“Right. Okay, well, how about if you just close your eyes and meditate a while? Or just read,” Johnny suggested.
“I brought you the paper.” Angus pointed to it on the bedside table.
“I’ll go talk to the doctor about when you can get out of here.” Johnny flashed Angus and Will a let’s go look before starting toward the door.
“Will?” Gretchen called. “Hang on a minute, would you?”
“I’ll catch up with you guys,” Will told Johnny and Angus.
Gretchen scooted over, and he sat on the edge of her bed. Her eyes darted to the clock on the far wall.
“It’s late,” Gretchen observed.
Will nodded. “So late it’s early.”
“Your mom will be freaking out.”
“I called my dad. I had to tell him about Guernsey…”
The memory of the valiant dog flashed across Gretchen’s mind. “Poor Guernsey.” She covered Will’s hand with her own.
Will’s chin quivered. “She was a brave old girl.”
“Yeah.”
Will cleared his throat. “Dad is taking care of burying her. He said he’d calm Mom down, too. But she’ll probably be here first thing in the morning with a basket of scones, so don’t eat any of the hospital food.”
“Your parents are so sweet,” Gretchen said.
“You think so?” Will looked surprised.
“Yeah… don’t you?” Gretchen cocked her head. “I mean, they’re always trying to take care of you. Your mom freaks out every time you leave the house because she’s so afraid. And your dad slaves away at that farm because he wants you to go to whatever college you want.”
“He slaves away because he loves money.”
“Money? Are you serious? If he wanted money, he could sell that farm and retire a millionaire.”
“I guess they can but…” Will looked thoughtful. “I don’t think of them that way.”
They sat together in silence for a long moment.
Gretchen drew in a deep sigh, steeling herself to ask the question that hung over her like a dagger. “Is Asia…” The words hung in the air.
“Gone,” Will told her.
“I’m sorry.”
Will nodded, thinking. “I think she’s probably… relieved.” But Gretchen saw the tears burning in his eyes. “They’re all gone, I think. Even Kirk should stop hearing them now.”
“What happened?” Gretchen asked.
Will looked at her carefully. “You don’t remember?”
She shook her head. “I remember those… things… and I remember Asia was there. But after that…”
Will’s face was unreadable. “There was-” He took a long moment before speaking, as if weighing his words carefully. “There was a gas spill on the bay. The gas-ignited.”
“How?”
Will bit his lip, hesitating. “Must have been a live cable or something.”
Gretchen looked down at the pale blue blanket that was pulled up to her waist. “Will,” she said at last, “there’s something I have to tell you.” She looked up into his eyes. “Will, I was there the night Tim died.” The truth poured from her like pus from a wound. She cringed at what he would say.
Will put his hands to his face. He sighed deeply, then ran his hands through his hair. “I know,” he said at last.
“You… know?” Gretchen repeated. “How?”
“It just-you had to be, right? Someone dragged me from the water to the beach. Who else would have?”
Gretchen touched her forehead. “I don’t remember it.”
“Do you know why you rescued me?” Will asked. “Why me, and not Tim?”
Gretchen felt this question like a stab to the heart. “Because I…” She swallowed, trying to make sound come from her lips.
Will watched her. She knew how badly he needed an answer. But in the end she couldn’t say it-she couldn’t tell him that she would always have chosen Will over his brother. “I don’t know,” she said at last. “Maybe it was too late for him.”
Will nodded. “Asia told me that the seekriegers were drawn to people who were angry, or sad, or feeling something dark, you know. So why did they take Tim?” Gretchen remembered the conversation she’d had with Tim just hours before he disappeared. Tim had told her that he loved her. She’d told Tim that she loved Will. Was his heart so broken that the seekriegers felt drawn to it? It hurt her to think that she had caused him so much pain.
“I’m sorry,” Gretchen whispered.
“You can’t save everyone, Gretchen,” he told her.
Tears rolled down her cheeks, silent as a secret.
“Stop. It’s okay.” Will put a finger to her lips. “Gretchen…” He held her hands in his large warm ones. “Can I just tell you something? I’m just so glad that you’re here.”
“You are?”
“It’s hard enough without Tim. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you…” He shook his head, unable to say more.
Gretchen looked away, pretending to inspect the pretty wallpaper. She thought about spending the next year in Walfang. Maybe that was what she and Will both needed. Perhaps the only way out is through, Gretchen thought. I can’t leave until we’ve put the past behind us.
Will leaned forward and placed a warm kiss on her forehead.
“What’s that for?”
Will smiled. “For you.”
Gretchen’s heart fluttered as she settled back against the cool pillow. It was the kiss of a friend, of someone close to a brother. She still loved him beyond that, but she knew Will wasn’t ready for anything more right now. They both had some healing to do.
But, for the first time, it seemed as if that might actually be possible.
As Angus said, the sharks had moved on.